Dagney Christine Trevor, the human firecracker, passed peacefully onto her next adventure on March 31, 2026. Dagney had broken both her hips, in rapid succession, this past winter and succumbed to the secondary complications. Fortunately for everyone, there was a lot of morphine involved at the end. Her caregivers, in their true fashion, were by her side as she transitioned, making sure she had purple fingernails and a heart full of love.
Born to John and Dagney (Frykberg) Trevor on Sept. 29, 1939, she joined her brother Barry in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. The family moved to Staten Island when Dagney was a child. There she would meet her future husband, Ned Finley, (married the charming rascal twice) and they would welcome their only daughter, Careen Alyson, on Sept. 1, 1962.
Dagney would end up fleeing NY in the middle of the night , with Careen in tow, in August 1971 when Ned got into trouble with the law. They landed at the ski house in Pico Chalet Village in Vermont. Dagney built a new life opening a super cool clothing store in Rutland , Little Big Store, where she sold used Levis, western pearl snap shirts, and other unexpected fashions. She eventually found her way to nursing school and spent many years working in the Upper Valley medical community.
In 1983 she met the love of her life, David Harshbarger, and together they built a great life in The Grove on Silver Lake in Barnard, Vt. They spent many happy years camping with their grandchildren Cavan and Delaney on the Cape Cod National Seashore and kayaking the Everglades and the Florida Keys as much as they could. They say opposites attract and D and D seem to support this theory. Dagney made the plans and David made the plans happen. It was a great collaboration that endured decades until David lost the battle with cancer in 2014. They had lost their beloved house in a house fire four months prior. 2014 tried to take Dagney down but she was not having it and rebuilt her house and continued to adventure with a variety of friends.
Her sunset years have been graced with incredible caregivers that have showered Dagney with the kindness, love, and support that has allowed her to remain in her home with her beloved kitties Rocky and Girlie. Thank you to Denise Carr, Liz Bettis, LeeAnn Gregory, Tarin Jones, and Betsy for providing Dagney the opportunity to find peace in her heart and an understanding of how much she was loved.
Thank you to Amy Harlow for being the administrative assistant.
Dagney was predeceased by her partner, David Harshbarger. She is survived by her daughter, Careen Alyson Little, her grandchildren Cavan and Delaney, her brother Barry (Maddie) Trevor, various nieces and nephews, and her favorites, her kitties Rocky and Girlie.
Please visit Legacy.com to see Dagney’s extremely long obituary that doesn’t even include all her stories. Visit legacy.com/legacy/dagney-trevor.
A Celebration of Life will take place Sept. 26, 2026 (Dagney’s birthday) 3 p.m. at Barnard Town Hall.
